Arms and the Man

Sir, In Wednesday’s Times there is a photograph of the rugby player James Haskell in which a number of elaborate tattoos may be seen on his biceps.

One of these tattoos contains the sequence MCCLXXXIV. This translates to 1284. The year 1284 saw the collapse of part of Beavais Cathedral and the foundation of my Cambridge college, Peterhouse, but I wonder if it commemorates some other event? 

PROFESSOR JACQUES HEYMAN
Cambridge
Editior’s note: James Haskell is the 1,284 player to play rugby for England.